Feds offer refunds for items allegedly advertised deceptively

Your Baby Can Read, Ab Circle Pro ads challenged

Some products make claims that are hard to believe. Take, for example, commercials you may have seen about books and videos that supposedly can teach your baby to read or a three-minute workout that will make your belly disappear.

If you doubted those sales pitches, you weren't alone. The Federal Trade Commission recently challenged the claims made by the marketers of the Your Baby Can Read books and videos and the Ab Circle Pro workout machine.

As a result of the investigations, the FTC is making refunds available to customers who bought those products and were not satisfied.

The commission's lawsuit against Your Baby Can LLC of Carlsbad, Calif., a few weeks ago alleged the company made false or unsubstantiated statements in its advertisements and product packaging when it represented, either expressly or by implication, that its Your Baby Can Read products could teach children as young as 9 months to read and give them a head start in learning that would allow them to perform better in school.

Advertisements included testimonials such as a mother saying her daughter read her first Harry Potter book at age 3.

In the settlement, Your Baby Can did not admit to or deny the allegations but agreed to stop using the term "Your Baby Can Read."

A message on the company's website says it has "shut down all operations and is no longer in business." The settlement had imposed a $185 million judgment, equal to the company's sales of the products since 2008, but that judgment was suspended due to the company's financial condition.

It agreed to pay $500,000, which the FTC says may be used for providing refunds to customers. Your Baby Can Read cost about $200 and was sold online, through infomercials and at major retailers.

It said marketers of the gym equipment boasted that using it for three minutes a day would cut 10 pounds in two weeks and was equivalent to doing 100 sit-ups.

"Weight loss is hard work, and telling consumers otherwise is deceptive," David Vladeck, the commission's director of consumer protection, said in a statement.

The commission sued several companies and individuals involved in the marketing of the product or that shared in the proceeds of its sales. It accused most of them of making false or unsupported claims about Ab Circle Pro's ability to cause rapid or substantial weight and fat loss.

The defendants are prohibited, to varying degrees, from making certain claims or misrepresenting the benefits of exercise products.

Several of the defendants, while not admitting wrongdoing, agreed to pay between $15 million and $25 million to settle the case. The final amount collected will depend on the volume of refund requests.

Direct Entertainment Media Group, which marketed and distributed Ab Circle Pro for Fitness Brands Inc., said in a statement the defendants "do not agree with the allegations" and settled the claims "to avoid protracted legal proceedings."

The Ab Circle Pro sold for about $200 to $250 through infomercials and for varying prices at stores. You can file for a refund if you were not satisfied with the product. Proof of purchase is not required, but you could face perjury charges if you file a false claim. The amount of your refund will depend on the number of claims filed, and there is no timetable for when you'll get your money.

If taking vitamins is part of your family's health regimen, you may have some money coming to you as a result of yet another federal investigation, this one into the health claims of children's vitamins.

The commission had filed a complaint in 2010 against NBTY Inc. and two subsidiaries regarding several Disney and Marvel heroes-themed vitamins, most of them in gummy form.

It alleged the product packaging and advertisements misrepresented that the vitamins contain a "significant amount" of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acid, when the vitamins contained only a trace amount.

The vitamins involved include Disney Princess, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger & Pooh; Disney Pixar Cars, Finding Nemo, Wall-E and Toy Story; and Marvel Heroes Complete and Marvel Heroes Gummies. They were sold at drug and grocery stores and online for about $4 to $8 a bottle.

In a settlement, the companies agreed not to misrepresent, either expressly or by implication, that their products contain a specific ingredient or amount of an ingredient. They did not admit wrongdoing.

The companies agreed to pay $2.1 million toward customer refunds, and the FTC now is taking applications for those refunds. To be eligible, you must have purchased the vitamins between May 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2010. No proof of purchase is required to file a claim. The amount of your refund will depend on how many claims are filed.

The deadline to file a claim is Oct. 12.

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How to get refunds if you bought these products

Vitamins: File a claim online at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/cases/childrensvitamins/ or call 866-224-4336 for a claim form

Ab Circle Pro: File a claim online at http://www.ftc.gov/abcirclepro/ or call 866-402-4752 for a claim form

Your Baby Can Read!: A claims process has not been established yet. Contact the FTC at 877–FTC–HELP or http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/